Aquaman Search Party: The Prequel
by MaidenOfTheWorld
Summary: My take on what it would have been like if Diana and Bruce went after each member of the Justice League together, starting with none other than Aquaman. Set in the DCEU after Wonder Woman, with slight references to the JLU cartoon. [[WonderBat Wonder Woman x Batman Bruce x Diana]]
1. Mission Log: Parisian Nights

"Have fun during your night out?"

Diana sighed in the middle of taking out her earrings, wandering into her hotel room much too late for any sort of an interrogation from the self-proclaimed World's Greatest Detective, too gorgeous in her black floor-length gown to be passively reprimanded like a child. "I invited you to join me, _Mr. Wayne_." Reminded Wonder Woman as she headed towards her suitcase, barely acknowledging the sullen man standing on her balcony. She slipped her discarded jewels into their case before sifting through clothes for one of her night gowns, then headed into the hotel room's bathroom in order to promptly prepare for bed.

She could _feel_ the way Bruce grimaced through the door as he responded to her claim, "We're here to track down the supposedly _real_ city of Atlantis—"

"It must be real if this Aquaman hails from it."

"—not to take in the sights of Paris. Which, I'm sure, you've seen many times in your life." The snarky, off-handed comment was both welcomed and unappreciated by the Amazonian, as it indicated both his lack of barriers with her just as strongly as it implied that he was still uneasy about her apparent immortality. To someone who had experienced both the value of longevity and the horrors of true morality, Diana did her best to understand his comprehension just as strongly as she tried to ignore it. She knew the moment she saw him stationed a few feet away from Superman's burial that he too had seen death in some form in his life; their commonality could surely triumph any reservations he had in regards to her ability to lives multiple lifetimes, experience the world in ways he could only imagine.

"Atlantis is rumored to be somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean; we are in France, which is also in the North Atlantic Ocean; I have a friend in Paris who is quite the historian, who just so happened to be attending a gala tonight at the Louvre." Her accent was flawless, even as she effortlessly slipped out of her high-end dress and unclasped the single-pronged clip that held together her elegant hairstyle. All at once, her persona disappeared and she felt much more comfortable in her nearly bared form than she had for the past few hours.

"Lucky you." Was her partner's sarcastic reply, which nearly terminated her descent into a much more relaxed state of being.

"Bruce," she warned while humming his name through the bathroom door, moving onto the removal of her makeup and washing of her face, awaiting some sort of justification as to why she was enduring his foul mood so late at night.

Somehow able to sense her question without the need for words, the dark knight could be heard clearing his throat and walking around her room before moving onto his main focus, "I wasn't able to locate Mr. Rousseaux." His admission explained his sour demeanor, given that he had spent a great deal of time tracking down every man that had been present when Lex's footage of Aquaman had been recorded. The man they were currently tracking was in charge of the camera that had obtained the frontal shot of the aquatic metahuman, after all others involved had either been untraceable as of yet, or had refused to provide Batman with any answers that either of them could use. Mr. Rousseaux was their last lead in terms of utilizing the videos that Bruce had shared with her.

Which was exactly why Diana had taken it upon herself to expand their search and look into what she knew best – history, mythology, legends.

Her experiences with the Olympians meant that she was very familiar with Poseidon and his power, but her banishment from Themyscira forbade her from ever contacting the god of Earth and Sea. It had long since become too taxing to be angered by such circumstances, which is why she held no reservation about enjoying the status of a socialite while obtaining any and all information that could serve them well in their quest. Smiling genuinely at her reflection, Wonder Woman remembered that it was quite all right to enjoy herself from time to time while still charging forth on her quest, else she might become an old stiff like her mother. Or worse, she might even turn into a war machine like Artemis! Picturing herself with the goddess of the hunt's heavy frown lines was nearly ridiculous enough to cause her to laugh aloud after Bruce's most likely difficult admission.

"And Mr. Pennyworth still hasn't been able to decipher any of the symbolism in Aquaman's armor?" she asked quickly, moving the conversation along.

"I don't know what you expect him to find," Bruce stated before answering her inquiry, "but no, he hasn't. Besides, he is multitasking between that, and…helping me prepare for when we finally meet this guy." Another sigh escaped the clearly weary man, only this one sounded a lot less agitated and a great deal more worn, almost as if he was fighting past a limit that had been hit long ago. Patting her face dry of after a simple cleanse, Diana tried to recall a time during their travels where she hadn't considered the infamous Batman to be challenging the reaches of a human's vitality, durability. It was her turn to sigh then as she threw on her night shirt and faced him once again as they discussed their plan of action.

"Both are very important tasks," she commended the loyal butler of her partner while reaching for her hair brush and moving to sit on the side of her bed, "considering I cannot breathe underwater, or swim with such speed, as he clearly can."

Bruce's face turned to stone as he processed what she had just told him. A small grunt escaped him before he began to pace the length of the suite with an impatient hand running back and forth over the top of his head. For a moment or so, Diana simply observed him with curious eyes, her gazes squinting slightly if only to take in every detail with the utmost clarity. Perhaps due to her obscure sense of time and the lack of a prominent threat, but her approach was indeed less chaotic and drastic in their search compared to Bruce's, who had still refused to tell her just what it was that made him believe in their designated task of uniting what the public would refer to as 'superheroes', should they all prove to get along. She was clever in her own right and trying to obtain hints from the conversations they had, but it was proving to be quite an entertaining challenge in its own right.

Though she much rather fight him for the answers, but the prize would be much less valuable if it was simple hand-to-hand combat, she supposed.

"Bruce," she beckoned softly, without any hint of patronization. Only when he looked up at her did she carry on, "we are very close."

"We don't know that yet." His eyes unintentionally glowered at her when he disagreed with her claim.

"If you would sit down for a moment and let me tell you what it is I learned tonight, you might agree with me." Teased Diana with a serious air. She placed her brush down and straightened her pose, indicating that she was prepared to divulge her collected secrets for her alleged 'night out'. She watched the sullen man approach the bed, but he would not sit; arms crossed over his chest, frown set in place until he was given a reason to speak, he looked like such a judgemental wall made of the flesh and bone gathered from such a hardened man. Against her better judgement, the superheroine could not stop herself from thinking, 'For a man who did not fight in either of the wars, he is nothing like…'

"Atlantis has been rumoured to be off the coast of many countries," she began with a sharper tone than necessary, yet she pushed onward, "From Portugal to the Arctic to Japan, there have been many hints of underwater cities that could have been Atlantis. Yet none of them can compare to what they discovered near Spain."

"Spain." Bruce repeated. It was as if she could hear him think, 'So we are _not_ where we need to be.'

Nodding once, Diana explained, "We are on the Bay of Biscay, but we need to be on the other side of it, near La Coruña, Spain – that's where we need to search. If we head West from there, we will find Atlantis."

"And your 'friend' knows all of this? The coordinates of a historical city that people have been searching for since the time of Plato?" Bruce, ever an enigma, was behaving in such a strange way that Diana could not pinpoint just what it was he was implying, nor feeling. Was he untrusting? Was he once again exhibiting reservations due to the possibility of dealing with another immortal, since he could not have known that Helena Sandsmark was just as human as he was? Was he perhaps jealous of her connections that surpassed his supreme detective skills…?

Or was there another vice he was secretly harbouring?

Unable to hide her mirth this time around, Wonder Woman smirked to herself before curling her lips inward. She batted her eyes at the troubled man of bats before daring to speak again. "Plato never said it was real – it was man that decided it was real."

"Apparently, we have Aquaman to thank for proving one of the greatest philosophers in history to be a sham."

"A sham?" She repeated with mock indignation, for him to speak of a prominent Greek figure with such an insulting tone and accusation.

Bruce cared not, clearly, as he bluntly criticized, "It's not fake" – another disapproving scoff, a shake of his head, and Bruce had wandered back onto the balcony in order to clear his head – "so he lied about it being fake. This is…"

"A lot to wrap your head around, if you believed these words." Diana finished his thought and decided to join the discontented man outside. She found him gripping the railing with hunched shoulders, looking up to the sky as if the fates would be kind to him for once in his mortal life and provide him with the answers he so desperately needed. For someone who was used to fumbling about in one major city – however flooded by crime waves as it was – the overwhelming realization of taking on the world, without his cave to ground himself in, was visibly beginning to take its toll on the formidable bat after weeks and weeks of traveling, hunting for answers. It would have been easy to pity his distressed state, but instead, his partner simply leaned against the door frame that led her outside and smiled up at the sky that he too stared at.

Not long after she joined him did Bruce mutter, "Ever since Metropolis was attacked, this world has become harder and harder to wrap my head around."

She said nothing, did nothing. That was an uncommon thing for Bruce to do, she had learned – providing information about his inner workings, to anyone, including his helpful butler. Discussing Superman had also been a rare occurrence; Diana knew his death had forced the man before her to go through some sort of a metamorphosis, and the very event he spoke of was linked to this sudden change in his life. The first thing they had in common – her and Bruce – was that they had both thought there was nothing else for them to do for mankind than what they had decided were their chosen paths. However, after Doomsday's attack, here they were: on a balcony in Paris, two warriors who had once tired of the world, trying to fight for the good that they both believed was still present, even if they were never meant to feel it themselves.

Proving her observation to be accurate, he went on, "If Aquaman…or the Flash…or Cyborg, or any other metahuman decides to oppose us, we could have another Metropolis-like battle on our hands. Then we become the very thing we are trying to save the world from. Then I'll be…" He bit out the last word and forced his frame to become even more rigid.

'A sham, the very thing I said I'd never be.' She imagined was what he meant to say. It was as if his belief and fortitude was standing strong against his worries, even if his analytical mind could not bypass the possibility of such a future. Diana could not believe how much she empathized with this man, this hero in a bat suit, as he professed the very same concerns she had held. He risked demoralizing her if she were a weaker sort, given that he was the one who forced her recruitment in this mission of his.

Thankfully, she could be strong enough for the both of them, even outside of a warzone.

"If we manage to recruit Aquaman, then we have three against the next one we meet. And if we convince that person too, then we will have four. The numbers could just as easily grow in our favour, Bruce. Surely, we can at least guarantee that our conversation with Aquaman will take place away from any major city that is not his own."

"Diana—" He turned to face her in an attempt to argue his point, but she was not to be interrupted.

The mighty Wonder Woman raised a finger to silence him and awaited his cooperation with a moment's pause. Then, she pretended as if he had never tried to oppose her and said with firm belief, "Whatever your motivations are for doing this, you must believe that your reasoning is sound. No matter your fears, you cannot let them take you away from your goal. That does not mean you must hide inside of your armoured suits and pretend that nothing can do you wrong – all you can do is remember what it is you are fighting for and never let anyone tear it down. Before, it was faceless people you wished to protect, but now, you have sworn to do this in the name of a fallen comrade.

"They say that so long as you do not forget someone, they never truly die. I know we both understand what it is like to carry that grief as if it is a burden. Maybe these other metahumans do, too. What I think is most beautiful about people is that we always fight harder when we do so in the name of someone else; you shall fight for Superman, and I shall fight for you. You can convince others to believe in you, as I have believed in you, Bruce. Now fight to uphold my beliefs, and use them as your weapon to combat any opposition we may face." As if her word was law, it was almost as though the end of her speech resembled that of a javelin being wielded by a judge, effectively ending the case of Bruce's doubts.

For a moment, Bruce Wayne stood still in contemplative shock. The billionaire playboy she had heard rumors about was nothing but a Greek statue as he posed for her, so deep in thought as her words were chiseled into his mind. Diana gave him his time to take in her words, her indulgent basking in the moment allowed for her to take pride in the assistance she provided him when it seemed as though his woes were beginning to eat away at his resolve. However, her impressive linguistic skills were minimalized when he suddenly, surprisingly teased her by saying, "I think that's the most you've ever said in one breath."

For a moment, Diana Prince was frozen with disbelief. Had Batman…just made a joke at her expense? Was this some sort of childish antic to avoid any sort of emotional depth being discovered by her well-spoken advice? No, perhaps all he could comprehend in the moment was the very fact he had sputtered; she would need to believe that he would find strength in her words after mauling them over on his own time, perhaps before he fell asleep, when the darkness needed a powerful weapon such as faith to tear through its hauntings. No matter his motivation, she found herself laughing softly at his simple jab and immediately jumped into the verbal spar, "That you've ever heard. Would you like to beat my record?"

"Oh no," he refused immediately, the silver highlighted more evidently than ever before when he shook his head under the moonlight, "there is very little I could challenge you with."

"Hm, see to it that you remember that." She answered with a triumphant smile and planned to exit the balcony with a conversational win.

That was, until Bruce called out, "If you're going to make a show out of it, I might try to find a weakness of yours to use—"

"Iced mochas," Diana supplied him with her own vices as she climbed into bed, tossing the sheets back excitedly, clearly believing that she had still bested the man known for his intelligence and wit, "golden accessories, priceless antiques, horses—"

"A horse wearing golden jewelry, serving you iced coffee in an antique vase," Bruce summarized while stepping back into the room, closing her balcony doors behind him so as not to let in a draft. With every step, every motion of his body, she noticed the faintest hint of a swagger that had never been present before. At the very least, not in all of their travels together. He nodded to her once as he then moved towards the other set of doors in her room – the ones that would take him away for the night, "I see."

"Are you mocking me, Mr. Wayne?" She used his last night as if to refer to the formal way she would refer to him in polite society, highlighting just as rude it would be if he revealed that he was indeed humorously ridiculing her honesty.

"Never, Miss Prince," He sounded ever so sincere from his position at the opposite side of her hotel suite, just about ready to grab a hold of the handle and leave her for the night, "but you must admit, those weaknesses sound very much more like those of a princess than a warrior."

Nearly stilled by his unknown referencing of her title on Themyscira, Bruce had unknowingly challenged her sensibility when he called her such a thing just as she believed their conversation to be finished. His tone had been snarky, strong, everything that was the Bruce Wayne she had come to know, opposing the image that had been painted of him in high society; she could trust that he did not mean to insult with the title, especially when she remembered that there was no way he could have known that she was royalty once, long ago…could he? Diana hesitated in her reply due to his flippant use of the word 'princess' and she caught sight of a small smirk as he left the room, never giving her a clear answer as to whether or not he knew that he had sneakily won the last round of the night.

* * *

(( _First, this is a post-BvS story, so there is the reference to the footage of Aquaman and the three other Leaguers we see in the movie. Second, they are in Paris because of the famous episode from the Justice League cartoon where Bruce and Diana handle a mission alone in Paris, there also being a scene where he appears in her hotel room and discusses the situation with her. I was going to make Audrey (the girl that Diana befriends in those episodes) her contact in Paris, but I realized that it made more so sense to include Dr. Helena Sandsmark – a.k.a. the mother of Cassandra Sandsmark, the second Wonder Girl! Phew, this was a long one! I hope the build-up and the ending flirtations satisfy your WonderBat cravings for a little while! Feel free to follow my tumblr blog where I accept writing prompts_ fyeahwonderbat!~Maiden)


	2. Mission Log: Plato Study

The next morning, Diana awoke to someone pounding on her hotel room door. Considering the way she felt – as if she had only just shut her eyes after a long night out – the noisiest of morning calls was not how the Amazonian princess wanted to greet the day. She couldn't even remember asking the hotel staff to send for someone—

Wait, wouldn't they have called her if she asked for someone to help her rise?

When her mind did eventually clear through her sleep-deprived haze, it was immediately met with another sound of heavy pounding; four heavy knuckle raps urged her to answer her door, regardless of her state of dress, and it angered her greatly to be called for with such impatience. Why was it that she always managed to interact with aggressive individuals, who could have simply called her room's phone instead of startling her awake? Grunting with obvious displeasure, Diana threw on her hanging kimono robe, prepared to deal with this Neanderthal who dared to disturb her so.

Why had it not occurred to her that it could have been a riled, sleepless Bruce Wayne?

"I know how we can get him to come to us." Was all he said before barging into her suite as if he owned it. She nearly slammed the door in protest of not only his treatment of her, but his evident lack of care for himself; wearing the same clothes as he did when he had snuck into her room last night, there was no hope that he had showered, let alone that he might have eaten his catered breakfast which would probably result in her being made to share. A reprimand was on her lips before the World's Greatest Detective decided elaborate his claim without any prompting to do so.

"Your contact said that we needed to head to Spain, but I have proof that we are actually better off heading straight to Morocco." Claimed the almighty Batman.

Diana nearly glared at him for insinuating that Helena in all her years as an archaeologist in comparison to his few weeks of snooping through ancient and government records. Nevertheless, she kept her composure, or rather, managed it for all of two seconds as she replied, "I can assure that Dr. Sand—Bruce, did you…find a copy of Plato's work? In France?"

Yes, in his hand was a very old book with the word 'PLATO' engraved into its leather cover; how volatile was this man?

He refused to feel the least bit foolish about having achieved such a feat in a matter of hours, all so he could try to discover Atlantis' location through his own merit. His detective skills were god-like compared to the lifelong career of a successful archaeologist, is what this looked like to Diana, and she could not place what exactly the sight of his desperation made her feel. "In this book," he began to elucidate, "Plato describes a terrain that is very similar to the Sahara dessert. He says there are—"

She did not question that he had been to such a beautiful place as the Sahara, but she did question the silly quip he was making, "You understand French, do you?"

"Fluently. _Dans ce livre_ —"

" _Ça suffit_."

"Then stop interrupting me" – when Bruce's eyes widened ever so slightly, she knew that he realized he had snapped at her and immediately backpedalled – "so I can tell you how I also cross referenced this theory with a handful of teams that have actually _been_ out to sea, _looking_ for this place."

"Then did you also look into the possibility of Malta? Or how some teams believed that Santorini _is_ Atlantis? Or perhaps we should visit Ireland and meet with the man responsible for the 'Atlantisopedia' and see what he has to teach us." Diana listed off her own theories as to where the mythical city could be found in order to demonstrate just how ridiculous he sounded, "The idea of Morocco being connected to Atlantis is still relatively new compared to all of the others."

"That could make it the most reliable." Bruce countered.

Surprised by his juvenile response, she asked, "How so?"

And just as childishly did he reply, "Because it could explain why all the other theories you mentioned never panned out – they weren't looking in the right place the entire time." The worst part about his claim was that she could see it in his eyes, how deeply he believed that his thesis could not be disproven. His impatience had piled high upon his psyche, it seemed, and finally caused the all might Batman to snap; the darkness in his eyes denoted to not only his sleepless state but his disfavour of her disinterest in his research. That stare was enough to send her to the bathroom, similarly to how she had spoken to him only hours ago, and head towards the sink.

"Bruce, my friend is not only world-renowned, but she has contact to some of the most brilliant minds in the world; if she is leading me to Spain, I am inclined to believe her." Grabbing a towel off of the rack next to the sink, she soaked the fabric underneath a simple stream of cold water. Just as she had begun to wring out the excess, another knock sounded at her suite's door. Thankfully Bruce was there and able to handle what was presumably her breakfast being delivered. Once she heard the door closed, she returned to facing him as they argued over the validity of his nightly reading.

"Plato left fifty-one clues to help locate Atlantis." Bruce Wayne said while losing the momentum of his words as Diana offered her soaking wet peace offering to him. In exchange for her breakfast, she was willing to give him the towel in order to at least clean himself up ever so slightly. The random gesture caused his inner workings to stall momentarily, until he saw the benefit to his acceptance of her help and traded her for her breakfast tray.

Walking her meal over to the bed, Diana disputed, "Yes, one of them being that Atlantis was within three thousand one hundred miles of Athens." Requiring energy in order to argue with her partner, the Amazonian dove into the bowl of assorted fruits the instant she laid eyes on it, finding comfort in the grapes and slices of cantaloupe; the natural sweetness was able to soothe some of her riled nerves while standing strong against his barrage of sour evidence.

He grumbled at her simplistic point of view overtop of the towel he had pressed against his face, "And the fact that it should be close to the Pillars of Hercules."

Dealing with one difficult man was enough; Diana did not need her morning to suffer from the mention of that blasphemous hero. Pushing past his claim unceremoniously, she held off on her next bite to firmly declare, "You're going to try to prove your claim by saying that Greek Mythology is real too, now?"

"Anything could be _very_ real, now." With the way he said that, it was clear that she played a great role in convincing him of opening his mind to such possibilities. Not that she had ever told him of her origins, her relations to the myths he would most likely purchase the works of as well if he knew anything about Themyscira or how she was brought into this world; if he refused to tell her why they were joining forces as they were, she could keep some of her own secrets hidden too. Still, that did not stop her from sensing quite eerie passing between them when he said something so foreboding.

However, Bruce behaved in a way that implied he had not noticed the discomfort she felt, and carried on, "Not only does Aquamna's armour coincide with those found in southern Spain and Volubilis, but the Moroccan government has never made any attempt to preserve any artifacts that are not Islamic, meaning that there could be a lot of evidence supporting this theory hidden along its coast."

"Bruce Wayne is powerful," Diana agreed, before leaning back against the headboard of her king-sized bed and nearly giggling as she concluded, "but he isn't _that_ powerful, that he could convince another country's government to allow him to dig through their ruins."

Bruce lowered the towel away from his face – looking much more awake and reasonable now, however long that would last – and pointed out, "We aren't going to visit any ruins."

"But you are going to look for Atlantis off the coast of Morocco because you assume it's there from what you discovered in a French translation of Plato's compiled works of 'Timaeus' and 'Critias'."

"I'm going to _find_ Atlantis because I am compiling my own research that revolves around cross-referencing the armour you asked me to look into with the facts presented by the man who first spoke of its existence." The argument between them was becoming a third entity in the room by this point, yet Diana refused to be verbally manhandled into forsaking her friend's words. She watched as her opponent used the dry end of his hand towel to pat down his face and instantly take notice of the scruff that had grown over the past few days, prodding him through what was one of the softest fabrics in the world. Her infatuation with his ambition was dying, and so, the impromptu hostess beckoned for him to follow her into the bathroom without so much as a warning for her strange altercation in behaviour.

He did not have the chance to question her intentions, Diana taking the lead in their talk, "Like I said, this is a new theory compared to all of the others. It does not mean it is invalid, but it does not mean that you can discredit my friend's work after looking into Plato's works for a couple of hours."

"I never said that her suggestion was invalid." Bruce attempted to defend himself with a softer tone, his confusion for being made to follow her into the bathroom coating his words.

Diana's lips pursed as he handed off her complimentary razor to him, her expression asking him to _try_ to convince her of that. "You are suggesting that we search the opposite side of Spain that she told me to check."

"Well is she an expert in Atlantean research? What's her name?" asked the dishevelled dark knight. Having taken her razor in hand, Bruce wordlessly promised to shave away the unsightly hair he had been growing upon his chiseled jaw, but did not break his eye contact with Diana in the mirror while he lathered on his shaving cream. It was plain as day that he was trying to fool her into revealing her source in an attempt to learn more about her, or so he could study all that Dr. Sandsmark knew and only add her work to his realm of believability in regards to his theory.

It was moment such as these that Diana imagined sparring with him, if only to knock him down a peg or ten.

Stealing some of the sink's running water for herself, Wonder Woman took to fighting off the oils on her face and began her morning ritual. "We even agreed that the rumours of Atlantis being in the Northern Atlantic Ocean were true. Remember?" Sidestepping his questions was easy enough when she knew that her inquiry would drive him back onto a safer course for their conversation, one that he was much more passionate about momentarily.

Having to lift his chin to see all of the hair growing beneath his jaw, Bruce's voice sounded a tad strained as he replied, "That was before I went to the source to learn what I needed to know."

"Bruce," Diana chided while lathering her foaming face wash in her hands, "please. If we are meant to be a team, you cannot dismiss my information just because you felt as if you weren't contributing very much to finding Aquaman yesterday." There, she thought. She was not afraid to call him out for his poor behaviour when the situation warranted it and she knew this was indeed one of those moments.

For a short while, she thought he might agree with her. Until he decided to be just as abrasive as he usually was and retaliated with, "Why are you refusing to consider what I'm saying?"

"Because we need a plan of action and dividing us just as we were about to leave for La Coruña is not going to help us to accomplish anything." Again, their eyes met in the mirror even while they simply stood side by side at the sink, the glass pane adding a degree of patience to their otherwise heated conversation for reasons she could not comprehend.

Perhaps it was due to the way he had simmered since she had brought him into her suite's washroom, but Diana was able to think beyond her pride and reservations as she replayed her own words within her mind: she was being just as difficult as he was, if she was behaving just as petulantly. ' _I can almost hear Mother laughing at me; the Fates are giving me what I deserve, I am sure she would say_.' Shaking her head in defiance of such a thought – only further proving her mother's hypothetical opinion to be true – Wonder Woman decided to be the bigger person and offer, "Why don't we meet with Dr. Sandsmark before we make any decisions? Let's run your theory by her and see what her take is on it. There is a reason she wants us to visit Spain and there is a reason you want to go to Morocco – we should compare notes before we make any plans."

Her olive branch was not snatched up right away, much as she imagined it would not be. Bruce's strokes with the razor were slower as he mauled over her suggestion, whether his pride was preventing him from jumping at the compromise or he was plotting their schedule based upon her suggestion, it took him a long while before he answered her. In fact, she had to wait until he finished shaving his entire beard away. "Fine, that's fair." Was how he eventually chose to acknowledge her rather wise strategy.

"Perfect." And Diana smiled at him while her face was covered by the white foam of her face wash, almost like the child she thought her mother would accuse her of being, looking as though she dove into a cloud with how many bubbles came together across her skin.

Though he would deny it until his dying breath, she was sure, Diana would swear until the end of time that she saw him crack a smile just before he quite literally ran away from her, proving he was just as immature as she.

* * *

(( _All of the information found in this story are legitimate theories you can find online, thanks to Michael Kane of the New York Post and Simon Worrall's interview with Mark Adams for the National Geographic, along with some Wikipedia articles. I imagine Diana doesn't necessarily have a problem with facial hair, but she might not enjoy Bruce's lack of decorum overall and it amounted to her asking him to shave! XD Hope you enjoyed, and feel free to follow my tumnlr blog_ fyeahwonderbat! ~Maiden))


	3. Mission Log: First Class

" _Good afternoon. This call is for flight 765 from Paris to Marrakech, Morocco. We are now ready to start boarding. Would all First Class flyers please approach the terminal first, followed by all passengers with children. Thank you for your cooperation. Bonne apr_ _è_ _s-midi. C'est—_ "

"You know, we could have taken a ferry." The whispered remark was one of truth, yet the motive behind Diana's information was not an innocent one. Ever since he convinced Dr. Sandsmark that they should head to Northern Africa instead of Spain, it had become her personal mission to subtly torture him for that insufferable personality of his. After all, their departure from France had been delayed for an entire day, the flights were double in price which should not have mattered to affluent people such as them but it surely bothered her, and it had been almost painful to watch as Bruce tried to argue with Helena about his self-indulgent theory.

Remembering such a farce once again due to indignation inspired the mischievous goddess to speak directly into Bruce's ear, close enough so that the warmth of her skin would graze his own, that the gentle graze of her breath would give him cause to shiver.

Watching the goosebumps on his neck rise, she did her best to focus as Bruce spoke low and replied, "Sailing over his home would most likely make him angry, and deadly."

"Maybe his only power is super speed underwater, like our other _friend_." Diana wondered aloud before turning to face the attendant at the terminal and handing over both her boarding pass and her passport. She smiled politely to the woman, however, there was truly an edge of triumph in her grin.

From behind her, she heard that now familiar grumble of a voice, "You think that's all he can do?"

"Well it's," she sighed dramatically as she proceeded him onto the plane, "just a theory of mine." With the length of this journey still looking to be quite ambiguous, prodding Bruce Wayne with quips and jabs that reflected his egoism was surely one of the most enjoyable ways to pass the time. Usually, Diana flew around the world appraising antiques all on her own – having a traveling companion had been both a nice change of pace as well as a reminder as to why she preferred working on her own for nearly a century. Of course she would have been fated to befriend one of the most stubborn men she had ever been forced to endure while on a mission to either safeguard or save the world. And of course, leave it to Diana Prince – exiled princess of Themyscira, Wonder Woman of Man's World – to find his insufferable behaviour entertaining, to say the least.

"Were you not able to get the clearance for this trip from your partners? I told you I'd speak to them for you." Came Bruce's belated response as he caught up to her at the airplane's door. The change in her previously serious nature was still a mystery to him, it seemed. For a man who had barely begun to know her and to assume that her passive witticism was a negative indication of her mood…

Well, he was partially correct, but that did not mean Diana would admit that to him.

While loading her luggage into the overhead compartment, Diana reported, "I managed to convince them that I was going to finish my vacation by visiting Volubilis again and tour the ruins before then flying off to Athens for yet another fundraiser."

"So you have been there before." Surmised her companion as he began to position himself comfortably in his first class recliner. Expertly had he stowed away his carryon was now simply staring at her from across the aisle while they swiftly jumped into discussing her profession instead of her fib.

However, Diana still had no intention of sharing much about herself with Mr. Wayne. From the way he behaved when it came to hunting down their metahuman friends, it would not have surprised her if Bruce really had her business associate's on speed dial already; what on Gaia's green Earth would it look like if _he_ had phoned her partners and politely demanded that she have more time away from her responsibilities? Bruce Wayne would understand what such a call would imply to her co-workers, but perhaps the Batman was too focused on the tasks at hand to care for the possible ramifications.

"Yes, I have. It is definitely a city that falls under the territory of an antique dealer." Diana pointed out rather than sounding as though she was explaining such a thing to him. Crossing her legs, she faced him with her chin resting in the palm of her hand. A perch in her brow indicated that she expected that that factoid did not require her clarification.

Between the many sluggish bodies of the oncoming economic travelers as they boarded the plane, they still attempted to continue on with their conversation, with Bruce daring to mutter, "Well, Wayne Enterprises has dealt with both the mining and fishing enterprises of Morocco; we'll both be able to work confidently and efficiently while we are there, then."

"So you've never been to Spain?" Diana countered, all while sounding absolutely innocent.

Bruce glared at her quite strongly, possibly intensifying his glower due to the passing passengers that were lessening the overall impact of his displeasure with her question. Neither one of them budge an inch, however, embodying day and night in the auras they emitted from either side of the first class section. When he did eventually dare to respond to Diana's blatant instigating remark, all he said was, "Are you going to be like this for the rest of the trip?"

"Are _you_?"

"…No." He admitted begrudgingly, finally admitting to the error of his ways.

And just like that, her mood instantly shifted. "Then neither will I," without much warning, the Amazonian goddess stretched the muscles in her neck as if to indicate that she was finally prepared to relax, before she reinvigorating their dialogue, "so I will admit that I am excited to visit Volubilis again."

Abruptly, unsurprisingly, Bruce reminded her swiftly, "We won't have time to visit any of the ruins, or stroll through a museum."

"You won't," Diana agreed partially, her brown eyes twinkling, "but when we inevitably part ways, I will take the opportunity to enjoy what was actually meant to be my vacation and behave like a tourist instead of a businesswoman" – a scoff slipped through the boarding travelers, with Bruce's response having lost its timing as he mauled over her words. She waited for his continued participation, but it would seem that she would be waiting forever if she did not guide them into a safer division of the topic at hand – "which is something I wonder if you know how to do."

"Be a tourist instead of a businesswoman? No, I prefer the company of businesswoman rather than being one." His response was automatic, faster than the true speedster they were hunting down, she imagined. His ingrained socialite behaviour was shining through, even though all it managed to do was highlight the strange drop in his mood that Diana could not comprehend.

Refusing to relent, she pressed him, "What about being a tourist then? Those come in all genders." She hoped her smile was softer than it usually was when she was attempting to get a rise out of him. It would be one of her greatest feats achieved if she managed to learn about Bruce Wayne, the man beneath the veils of illusion and the darkness of the night. They did some of their best work together during the day; would he be willing to step out of the shade of his city and shed some light on the depths of the man she partnered with instinctively, albeit forcefully?

Finally, the plane's boarding had ceased and there were no more passing bodies for him to hide behind. With none of his alter ego's gimmicks to shield himself with, Bruce cleared his throat and shuffled in place a tad unnaturally. It seemed that it was quite awkward for him to talk about doing anything so pleasurable at his leisure, let alone acknowledge that one could travel the vast world without a motivation or predetermined cause in mind. It seemed that strolling through the ruins of Volubilis like a couple of foreigners – cargo shorts, button up tees, sun hats and sunscreen – was something quite unfathomable for the CEO of a multi-billionaire company.

Surely, he traveled as a child, hadn't he? From a cabin in the woods to a five-star hotel on the other side of the globe, wouldn't his wealthy parents have whisked him away from time to time, given that money was not an issue to the Waynes for generations?

She pondered such a notion for quite some time before Bruce responded to her inquiry, equal parts professionally as he was candidly, "Taking care of…such a globally-dependant company keeps me very busy, day and night."

' _As does caring for Gotham._ ' She imagined him wanting to add on, but chose not to given the secrecy of his double life.

His reasoning held weight behind it, and it would be both rude and foolish to dispute it in anyway. Diana nodded slowly as she shifted her position to face forward in her recliner. "I can only imagine." Was her attempt at apologizing for pushing the matter. The entire trip, she had described as hard-headed, much too persistent, almost infuriatingly independent and work-oriented; it would be unlikely that someone like that could find it to be an easy task to relax and escape their own reality for a few days at a time. In fact, it was more than likely that a holiday of any kind would be much more taxing for Mr. Wayne than anything he had ever done for his company.

At least, she assumed it would be.

"Plus," Bruce's addition to his previous remark once again disrupted the pace of their conversation, yet he cared not. Instead, he appeared to be almost sheepish as he said, "I doubt my fishermen know the ruins as well as they know the waters, and I don't think miners care to dig up relics of the past."

His humor was much like the lapping waters of the ocean, shyly trying to engage the shoreline. This amicable side of her partner in crime was always welcomed to show himself, but rarely took the chance to do so; it was most likely that he was just as alien to Bruce as he was to anyone else. It intrigued Diana to know that she was making headway in her bond with Batman, a wondrous development she had hoped for since the beginning of their official companionship.

Grinning from ear to ear, Diana replied, "I would have assumed that you would have at least one person in each department of your company who was a retired spy, keeping tabs on everyone and everything in a diabolical manner."

"I assure you, I don't need that kind of assistance" – the pride in his voice was irrefutable – "but…I do think it's a shame that I haven't toured Morocco more." As sloppy as his attempt at being nonchalant was, it was absolutely impossible to ignore.

"Oh?" It was all she could say, due to her evident surprise.

Suddenly, a flight attendant was standing between them, abruptly and undesirably interrupting a moment that Diana was all too intrigued by to see it end. "Excuse me. Just wanted to let you know that we'll be heading onto the runway shortly. Please fasten your seatbelts now, and I'll get you anything you need off of the drink or snack menu before we depart. Have you had the chance to—"

"I think we're fine for now, thank you," Bruce answered the chipper young lady for the both of them. A sharp smirk showed on his face and disappeared just as quickly as it came; it was obvious that he wanted the attendant to attend them another time. Thankfully, her obvious experience with people shined through and she moved onto the next set of travellers behind them without a fuss. Before Diana could even hope for their previous banter to have been preserved despite the interruption, it shocked her to see how quickly he carried on from where they had last left off, "I heard it's a beautiful city. I'd want an expert to show me around though, so as not to waste any time. Especially Volubilis, if it's as wonderful as you make it sound."

Indirect meanings was the theme, the very essence of their conversations, and Diana understood every single intention behind his words, always. This elucidation to a vacation revolved around her joining him, perhaps even guiding him around the ruins she adored. Was Bruce willing to forfeit control of a situation into her hands? Was Mr. Wayne interested in taking a small break from the chaos that was his life, if only for a day or so at her side? Was Batman allowing Wonder Woman to steal him away from both his company and his city? Whether it was merely a fictions pacification or the genuine article, the offer alone impressed her beyond measure, that the words would even come to mind, let alone be spoken by such a man.

Buckling her seatbelt as she was asked, Diana snickered to herself and quickly agreed for fear of losing his momentum, "Absolutely. Perhaps if we put in a great deal of effort and find our friend fast enough, I can give you a tour myself."

Relief washed over her poorly equipped, emotionally-stunted partner while he took fastened himself to his seat. "Perfect." Was his lone word of reply to officially end their discussion on the matter, and that suited her quite well. Diana could not believe that he had discreetly scheduled a playdate with her, let alone that she had accepted after all of the trouble he had put her through! There was no guarantee they would have any time to spare – her experience with fellow metahumans having taught her that powers had a habit of making a person much more volatile than an average human would be – and yet, the prospect of taking the reins from his hands for any reason motivated her to do her best on their quest to locate this Aquaman.

What a sight it would be, to see Bruce in cargo shorts.

* * *

(( _You know you're working hard on a ficlet when you look up a country's economy to determine what their exports are in order to figure out which businesses a character would have there…They should film a WonderBat prequel to Aquaman's discovery, written by yours truly~ But that might just be too self-indulgent of me, ha ha. At least they have a new Paris – Volubilis, Morocco! Thanks, Aquaman! Towards the end, Diana unknowingly references the comic where Bruce recommends the cabin Thomas Wayne used to take his family to when he needed to get away, the very one Bruce sends Diana to when she needs a break in that particular storyline. I've posted about that comic before on tumblr, so hopefully it was easy to see the reference? Anyway, thanks for reading and feel free to follow me for more at_ fyeahwonderbat! ~Maiden))


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